Poll candidate accuses NSUI state Prez of thrashing him

An election candidate who was abducted and thrashed by the state president of the National Student’s Union of India (NSUI), Shivraj More, and his supporters during the state-level polls of the union now plans to approach the Foundation for Advanced Management of Elections (FAME) to file a complaint against More.

Injured party: Sumit Bhosale, who says he was thrashed by (below) NSUI state president Shivraj More and his supporters during the state-level election for various posts in the students’ union on Monday

The state-level elections to various NSUI posts were held on Monday at Balewadi. Sumit Bhosale, who stood for the election for the post of state general secretary, was abducted and beaten up by More and his supporters during the elections. Bhosale claimed that More also robbed him of Rs 55,000. A resident of Solapur, Bhosale had come to Balewadi on Monday for the election.

“I forgot the election slips in my car and so I came out of the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, where the election was taking place. As soon as I came near my car a group of around 50 people including More and his brother Ruturaj started beating me and forcibly made me sit in More’s car,” Bhosale said.

Poll violence: The Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, where the election took place on Monday. File Pic

He said that More and his supporters took him to a marriage hall in Baner and thrashed him with hockey sticks before bringing him back to the same place from where they had picked him up and leaving him there.

Police complaint Bhosale lodged a complaint against More with the Hinjewadi police station yesterday, but said he was not sure whether action would be taken against More as many party bigwigs were supporting him.

“As I fear action will not be taken against More, I decided to approach FAME with my grievance,” he said. “We know each other since the past two-three years and we do not have previous animosity. I am clueless why he and his supporters kidnapped me and pushed me in his i10 car, which had the registration MH-50 CC 5657. Maybe it was done just because he thought that his panel was on the verge of defeat.”

Bhosale was defeated by 300 votes while More was re-elected the state president of NSUI for another two years. More denied that he had thrashed Bhosale and said that he was not aware of the complaint lodged against him. Reacting on the incident and the history of hooliganism in the youth wings of political parties, INTUC president Rahul Mhaske, who was presented during the NSUI elections, said, “It was just a misunderstanding between two groups which later turned into a fight among them.”

Mhaske admitted that Bhosale was abducted and beaten up by More. Assistant Police Inspector P B Bhasme of the Hinjewadi police station said More was booked under the relevant sections of the IPC and investigations were on.

Congress state president Manikrao Thakre denied such an incident had happened during the NSUI election. “I was present during the elections and no such incident has taken place,” Thakre said.